Iranian President Hassan Rohani has blamed world powers for the spread of terrorism over the past 15 years and what he called a less secure world.

Rohani told the UN General Assembly on September 22 that "repression and military intervention" by unnamed countries had caused terrorism to expand and led to a more insecure world.

He also called on regional rival Saudi Arabia to "cease and desist" from divisive policies in the Middle East if it is serious about peace and security.

Rohani said that, if Saudi Arabia is "serious about its vision for development and regional security, it must cease and desist from divisive policies, the spread of hate ideology, and the trampling upon the rights of its neighbors."

Relations between leading Shi'ite power Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is predominantly Sunni, have worsened over Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war and Saudi and Iranian support for the opposite sides in the conflict in Yemen, among other issues.

Rohani also praised the nuclear deal reached with the United States and five other world powers last year as a "win-win approach for both sides."

But he was quick to criticize what he called Washington's "lack of compliance" with the nuclear deal that he said should be immediately "rectified."

He also criticized a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the families of victims from bomb attacks associated with Iran to receive financial compensation from Tehran's frozen assets in a decision that could cost Iran hundreds of millions of dollars.